Hay-type crops, normally forage plants that are dried out before being collected and either stored or eaten, are typically cut and then left in the field to dry for a predetermined amount of time before they are picked up and baled, prepared for silage, or otherwise treated. Such a harvester normally has a chassis adapted to travel along the ground in a predetermined direction and provided with a crop cutter extending transversely to this direction and serving to cut a swath in the crop. After cutting, the crop is laid in the field normally in windrows extending in the direction of travel of the harvester.
The standard system has the cutter mounted on the front of a self-powered chassis. Provided on this chassis between the wheels thereof is a crop conditioner, normally a pair of horizontally extending rollers between which the crop passes, and the chassis is further provided with a transverse conveyor that displaces that crop lying outside and in front of the wheels to between the wheels. After passing through the conditioner the crop is formed into a single windrow that lies between the wheels of the chassis.
The disadvantage with this system is that the single windrow is relatively tall, especially when the machine has a large overall width. Thus the crop in this windrow will be relatively compact, so that subsequent spreading and tedding will be necessary for drying it out. Furthermore as all of the crop must pass through the conditioner that can have a maximum length equal to the distance between the vehicle wheels, the conditioning is often inadequate. Furthermore the subsequent step of spreading or tedding the crop further adds to the cost of the operation.
Another device is known from German patent publication No. 1,942,733. This has a cutter and a transfer conveyor mounted on the machine. Between the wheels of the machine is the conditioner which is provided above a cover plate on whose end is provided a pivotal deflecting plate. For the deflecting plate there is provided on the chassis above the ground a strewer which is formed of two counterrotating and overlapping strewing disks. The cut crop from the cutter is pushed together by the conveyor to a width equal to the distance between the wheels of the vehicle and fed to the conditioner. The conditioner in turn draws the crop obliquely upwardly against the cover plate, thence is conducted to the deflecting plate. Thereafter it falls on to the underlying spreader which lays the crop on the field in a windrow wider than the distance between the rear wheels of the vehicle. Accordingly these rear wheels will ride over the crop, pressing some into the ground, knocking some grain loose, and generally damaging the crop. Even with this arrangement, however, the crop is still formed into a relatively thick windrow that takes considerable drying time and often requires subsequent spreading or tedding.
Another arrangement is known from German patent publication No. 1,632,846 which comprises a tractor and two cutters provided on the front of the tractor next to each other. These cutters are supported on a frame which rides on the ground. In this arrangement the crop is thrown to the right and left next to the tractor in two windrows. The disadvantage of this system is that it is very expensive, necessitating two separate cutting and conveying arrangements. Furthermore, the crop between the two cutters is frequently lost, and even so the two windrows formed by the device still are relatively thick and require considerable drying time.